Slowly but surely, Morgan Ellison is making his way out of Tom Allen‘s doghouse.
In late August, Indiana announced that Ellison had been indefinitely suspended by Allen for unspecified violations of team rules. The suspension not only cost Ellison the first five games of the season, but he wasn’t even permitted to work out with his teammates for good measure.
Tuesday, however, the running back’s head coach confirmed that Ellison has now been cleared to resume practicing with the rest of the Hoosiers. When he’ll see the field during a game, though, remains to be seen.
“The bottom line is that he’s been allowed to be with our team recently,” Allen said Tuesday. “We still have no answer for his game opportunities, but he’s been allowed to be around us on a consistent basis now, which has helped. But we still don’t know the long-term future yet, so we’re just taking it day-by-day.
“Being with him each day has helped. It’s helped him, it’s helped us and I enjoy being able to get that back in order.”
Last season, Ellison led the Hoosiers with 143 carries for 704 yards and six touchdowns. With Ellison sidelined through what will essentially be the first half of the season this weekend, Stevie Scott is now the bellcow in the running game as he has accounted team-highs in rushing (464 yards) and rushing touchdowns (four).